


And tomorrow morning

by LilyRosePotter



Category: Crooked Media RPF
Genre: F/F, Genderswap, SF era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 04:16:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14992562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyRosePotter/pseuds/LilyRosePotter
Summary: Being on the receiving end of Dan’s laugh makes Tommy think of piling into the bus to Grant Park, of late nights in Favs’ apartment when Lovett came back from LA to visit, of POTUS’sgreat jobafter she helped with the Correspondents’ Dinner jokes.





	And tomorrow morning

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Dan Week Day 4: Genderswap

_Yes, I’m drunk. And you’re beautiful. And tomorrow morning, I’ll be sober, but you’ll still be beautiful. —The Dreamers_

 

“You know, even if they manage to pull this out, they’re just going to lose to the Celtics again next week.” Tommy says, giggling. She’s sprawled out on Dan’s couch, her head almost on Dan’s thigh. They’re both in T-shirts and leggings, loose and happy at the end of a long week, a little bit drunk. 

Dan laughs down at her. “You fucking wish.”

This might be the most casual they’ve ever been with each other. It’s certainly the easiest their friendship has been since Tommy moved to San Francisco, when she finally left D.C., followed Favs and Lovett to California. Favs is still pissed at her for picking San Francisco over Los Angeles, but it’s not like it’s bad for Fenway, Ben’s here after all. 

So Tommy didn’t want to immediately become the permanent third wheel to Favs and Lovett’s “post-White House, true to myself” fairytale, sue her. She’s happy for them, she’s happy Favs finally had the courage to act on the things she’d whispered on her couch during the darkest nights in D.C., but they’ve lived in each other’s pockets for years, some distance is good. Maybe Tommy can figure out who _she_ wants to be too.  

Tommy didn’t account for Dan being here too, also trying to figure out her post-White House self. They’ve always gotten along. They’ve been friends since Dan met Tommy at the same time she met Obama. An equal level of importance, those meetings. When Tommy moved, she expected they’d continue the casual friendship of their years in the White House, and at first, that’s what happened.

At first it was dinner and drinks once or twice a week, _you’re one of the few people I know in this city_. Then it was museums on Saturdays, a concert in the park on Sunday, _we have the exact same interests_. It was always formalized, always an agenda, always well-planned in advance. Until tonight. 

Tommy had been sitting on the couch at home, bored as hell. It’s been more than two years since she left the White House and she still doesn’t know what to do with all her free time, really doesn’t know what to do with it outside D.C. She’s half-heartedly sending client emails that Favs will tease her later for sending this late on a Saturday night and intermittently checking various group chats when she realizes that Dan is the only person replying, that she’s replying immediately, and that she lives five blocks away.

 _Whatcha doing?_ she texts Dan in their individual text chain before she can overthink it. The last message in the chain is from more than two weeks ago. Dan’s the only person she knows who calls people on the phone to make plans that she scrawls in her ever present paper planner.

 _Honestly? Sitting on my couch watching DVR’d “Survivor” episodes until the Sixers’ game starts._ Dan replies within a minute.

Tommy had all but forgotten there was a basketball game tonight. _Can I come over and watch with you?_

Her phone buzzes before she can regret asking, shaking up the established order. _Yes of course!_ Dan’s written. Tommy grins. It’s easy to picture Dan writing that, fingers flying, adding the exclamation point only when she means it. _Come over whenever, I’ll be here._ Dan follows up a few seconds later.

Tommy realizes halfway to Dan’s apartment that she’s going to be horrifyingly early, look so overeager for companionship, so she ducks into the CVS on the corner to buy a six pack. As she’s waiting in line she sees the frosted cookies that have always been Dan’s weakness and grabs a carton. At least she won’t show up embarrassingly eager for companionship _and_ empty-handed.

The first few minutes are awkward. Dan ashamedly shoves a couple empty take out containers in her trash can when she leads Tommy through the kitchen and has to clear a stack of papers off the couch to create a space for Tommy to sit down gingerly. Tommy fidgets with the label on her bottle, not sure what to do with her hands, until Dan groans at the TV as someone is voted off the island.

“Ugh that’s so dumb, Laura was the fucking best,” Dan bitches. 

“Isn’t this like two seasons ago? You already know who wins,” Tommy teases her. Dan can rewatch this show ad nauseum and its baffling. 

“Excuse me, how many times have you seen _20 Hours in America_ again?” Dan asks, eyes laughing.  

Tommy flushes. So she has her own comfort TV. “That’s different.” 

“Sure,” Dan agrees blandly, holding out a bowl of pretzels. “The game’s about to be on anyway.” 

By the end of the third quarter, any trace of awkwardness is gone. They’ve finished the Sam Adams Tommy brought and Dan’s grabbed a couple bottles of Longboard from her fridge. Tommy is lying across the couch feelingly pleasantly buzzed and very giggly. 

“You want to split the last one?” Dan asks, holding the cookie over Tommy’s head.

“Nah you eat it, I’ve had enough sugar, I’m already gonna have to run an extra mile tomorrow.” Tommy grimaces. 

Dan shakes her head. “More for me then!” she says cheerfully. “I need the sugar to drown the losing team sorrows.” 

“I don’t know what that’s like,” Tommy says. Dan glares at her. “I kid, I kid, please don’t kick me off your couch.” 

This is so _easy_ , Tommy realizes as Dan leans back against the couch, turns her attention back to the game. Unbelievably easy to hang out with Dan and shit talk each other’s teams and idly gossip about their friends and their new jobs. Dan _gets_ it, what it’s like to be here after so long in D.C. They’ve always been friends, always gotten along, but this is a different level of connection and honestly, Tommy’s not sure why they haven’t hung out like this before.

  


***

  


“Did you know that I fucking ran communications for the goddamn White House?” Dan says without preamble as she drops into the booth across from Tommy. She’d texted an hour ago _Tacolicious in forty-five? I need a fucking drink_. Tommy’s been here for a half an hour, her timing well practiced to have a table by the time Dan blows in.  

“You did?” Tommy asks with mock surprise and Dan kicks her under the table. “Do I need to come to your office and tell Dillon and Jeffrey stories about how terrifying of a boss you were?” she asks more seriously. 

Dan sighs. “Was I scary?” 

“Only when you wanted to be,” Tommy promises. She knows Dan worries, still, much more than Tommy does, about the way her authority is perceived and Tommy worries a lot. “You just need to give these guys the treatment you gave that intern who thought he could tell you no to assignments. Prove it once and then ice them out.” 

“Yeah I know. They just already gossip about me enough.” 

“It fucking sucks,” Tommy says. “Men suck.” 

Dan’s opening her mouth to respond when the server stops next to them. “Okay, I’ve got chips, guac, ceviche, and a pitcher of margarita fresca?” 

“That’s us,” Tommy confirms with a smile. Their server grins back, dimpling. She’s cute and was very friendly when Tommy ordered. Another time, Tommy would go for it but- 

“Perfect,” Dan says, pouring herself a very full glass with a beatific grin. “You already order tacos too?” 

“Avocado, cod, and carnitas,” Tommy says. Dan nods, satisfied. “So tell me what your asshole coworkers did today.” 

Dan leans forward, gesturing with a chip, eyes glowing with irritation. Tommy didn’t know, before she started hanging out with Dan basically every day, that she could be so happy while listening to someone complain about the sexist dudes she works with. It makes her blood boil, of course, to hear the concrete details of how much worse the private sector is than even the things they’d bitched about for years in politics, made worse by the lack of their steadying, example setting boss. But under the rage is an ever present glow. Dan makes it funny, is the thing, coming up with increasingly creative insults. Last week she’d called Dillon an incompetent fuckstick and Tommy had fallen off the stool in her kitchen laughing.

There’s a list in Tommy’s phone, of funny work stories to tell Dan, ever changing as she runs through them, as Favs sends ridiculous emails, as their clients ask for impossible messaging, as Tommy goes to meeting after meeting. When Dan finishes this bitching sesh, Tommy has a doozy for her, today the potential client she met with on skype had his bare feet up on the desk, half blocking the skype camera while he dedicatedly assured her that his speech really did have to convince 8,000 people to take the leap and invest in his tech startup. She’d sent Favs a _hard no_ email and then written down his dumbest comments. 

It’ll make Dan laugh. The happiest Tommy can be is making Dan laugh about petty or not so petty indignities. Dan has a great laugh, full and unselfconscious, not the high giggle that a senator’s Chief of Staff once told Tommy made her sound like a sorority girl, _it’s unprofessional_. Being on the receiving end of Dan’s laugh makes Tommy think of piling into the bus to Grant Park, of late nights in Favs’ apartment when Lovett came back from LA to visit, of POTUS’s _great job_ after she helped with the Correspondents’ Dinner jokes.  

“Can I get you anything else?” their server asks for what’s, oops, the third time. Tommy looks at her phone quickly, they’ve been here for an hour and a half since Dan got here, the restaurant definitely wants to flip their table. 

“Just the check I think,” Dan says, clearly on the same page. “You have a couple episodes of _Orange is the New Black_ in you tonight?” They’ve been binging it together for the past two weeks, making a dent in the list of TV shows they couldn’t keep up on in the White House. Lovett’s been pestering Tommy to watch it for two years, but it had taken Dan’s interest to make her pull the trigger after a couple false starts, it’s a better show to watch with someone than alone.  

“Of course,” Tommy smiles. “Your place or mine?”

  


***

  


“-so that’s how I learned that LA dog parks are a vicious vicious world, the dog moms will _eat_ you, and that Jon’s dog is an _idiot_.” Lovett finishes triumphantly, leaning back in her chair dangerously. God, Tommy has missed her.  

“Fuck off,” Favs says, words tempered by her fond tone and the hand squeezing Lovett’s knee. Leo seems unbothered by the insult, laid out comfortably in Tommy’s lap. “Just because you’re bad at giving him clear instructions-”

Lovett sputters and Tommy cuts in with a giggle, “you just need to get your own dog to spoil rotten and not train.” 

“Pot. Kettle,” Favs says pointedly and Tommy sighs mournfully.

“She needs a new apartment first,” Dan chimes in, tapping Tommy’s shoulder affectionately before reaching down to scratch Leo’s head. Leo’s been exiled to Dan’s apartment this weekend even though Favs and Lovett are staying at Tommy’s because her landlord is that fucking draconian about dogs in the building.

Favs is looking between them with a weird look when she says, “yeah that’s inconvenient.” She looks down at the table, laden down with empty plates. “I’ll clear, Tommy you want to help?” 

“You don’t have to-” Dan says quickly, but Favs brushes her off with a hand.

“Nah, Lovett had questions for you about corporate structure or something for a script, we might as well make ourselves useful.” 

When they’re in the kitchen, Tommy automatically moves to unload the dishwasher so they can put the dirty plates in. She turns around from putting the wine glasses in the cupboard to see Favs watching her with that same strange look in her eyes. 

“Do we need more drinks you think?” Tommy asks, to break the silence. She opens the fridge before Favs can answer, reaching for four beers. 

“Good plan,” Favs replies, taking the bottle Tommy hands her.  "So, uh, Dan has Sam Adams in her fridge?" 

Something in her tone brings heat to Tommy’s cheeks. She doesn’t know why, it’s not embarrassing. "I used to bring it over all the time, now Dan puts it on her shopping list," she explains, pulling the one bottle opener that doesn’t serve as an actual magnet holding up save the dates and pictures of Dan’s cousins’ kids off the fridge. “I have like four types of lager in my fridge too.”

“Sure,” Favs agrees, sliding their plates into the now empty rack. "You spend a lot of time here, huh?" Her tone is curious, just Favs keeping track of Tommy's social health like always, but Tommy still feels like she’s being put under a magnifying glass. So Tommy spends as much time in Dan’s house as her own and vice versa. They’re friends, they hang out. 

"I didn't know how it would be, if I could be happy and you know, fulfilled, after the White House,” Tommy explains carefully. “But I’m starting to feel like I have a full life here, and yeah, spending time with Dan is a big part of that." 

Favs looks at her intently, assessing. “I’m... I’m glad, Tommy,” she says, no doubt thinking, like Tommy is, of the late night phone conversations when Tommy was still trying to make a post-White House life in D.C work, when happy was the opposite of what she was. “Still wish you’d move to LA though.” 

“Maybe someday,” Tommy laughs. “How about you, are you happy?”

“Yeah,” Favs glows. “I’m- I’m thinking about asking Lovett to move in with me.” 

“Hey that’s great!” Tommy says, enthused. She’s so fucking thrilled for the both of them she feels sometimes like she can’t stand it. 

“We basically live together anyway, y’know,” Favs says with a shrug that does nothing to mitigate her excitement. “Speaking of Lovett we should go rescue Dan, she’s looking for a new show idea and she gets a little- intense about it.” 

“Lovett? Intense? Never,” Tommy deadpans and Favs laughs, companionably wrapping an arm around Tommy as they go back to the balcony.

“Love her though,” Favs says casually. “You know how it is,” she adds with a significant look at the glass door in front of them. Lovett’s arms are waving wildly while she talks and Dan is bent in half with laughter, the sun catching on the streaks of silver in her hair. Dan turns as Favs slides the door open with a happy smile lighting her face and Tommy feels something in her chest squeeze. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Yeah… I do.”

  


***

  


It turns out that _realizing_ you have a raging crush on one of your best friends, your very straight best friend, your straight best friend who you see every fucking day and touch all the fucking time, makes things… worse. Tommy spends three weeks after dropping Favs and Lovett off at the airport alternating between cursing Favs for knowing her so well that a few pointed questions brought all of her repressed feelings into the light and frantically second guessing everything she says and does around Dan.

It turns out that having Dan lean towards her over a tiny table, lips stained red with wine, is even worse. They planned this weekend in Sonoma months ago, to coincide with the end of the quarter for Dan at work, coming off a terrible stressful 90 hour work week.

Tommy wouldn’t have cancelled even if she could. It’s clear Dan needed the getaway and the wine, her shoulders relaxing with each stop of their tour bus. And it’s just as fun as she thought it would be, giggling in the back of the tasting room while a bachelorette party flirts with the sommelier. 

“Ten bucks one of them touches him inappropriately before they leave,” Dan whispers, her breath sweet near Tommy’s face. 

Tommy shakes her head. “I don’t take bets I’m certain to lose.” 

Dan inclines her head in acknowledgement, picking her glass up to drain the last drops. Tommy forces herself to look away from the lines of her throat as she swallows, the sunburn dotting her nose under her sunglasses and the dorky 76ers hat she won’t take off. Her traitorous eyes catch on Dan’s legs where they peek out under the table, toned muscle on display in her shorts, ankles crossed delicately in her sensible shoes. _Fuck_.  

The bride-to-be does grab the sommelier’s ass as Dan and Tommy are walking back to get on the tour bus and Dan giggles happily, leaning into Tommy as they walk, tipsy and flushed. Tommy wraps a hand around her waist, worried even as she does it. _Don’t take too much just cause it’s easy_. _Don’t exploit her affection_.

It gets harder to pay the voice in her head any attention as the day goes on. 

“I’m getting another glass of wine, I don’t even care,” Dan says happily. All Tommy wants is her bed, _in the room they’re sharing_ , but they’ve finally made it back to their hotel for dinner and food is probably good. 

Tommy shakes her head. “We have had _so much wine_ ,” she murmurs. Her head is floaty, spinny, and Dan’s cheeks are so bright and pleased it hurts to look at them. _Don’t_ -

“Two of the risotto and a bottle of chardonnay,” Dan orders over Tommy’s objection.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Tommy laughs, “a whole fucking bottle?”

“Tommy,” Dan says seriously. “YOLO.” The slang sounds absolutely ridiculous coming from her mouth. She’s finally taken off her stupid hat and her hair shows it. She pushes up her sunglasses to punctuate her joke with a wink and that’s what sends Tommy completely over the edge. 

“Never…” she gasps when her giggles finally start to subside. “Never… ever… say that again. Fuck, Dan.”

Dan’s face beams with the pleased smile she always has when she makes Tommy, _anyone_ , laugh. “Seriously though, when else are we going to be able to have this kind of wine-soaked day?” 

“Literally any time you want Dan,” Tommy says. “We literally live less than two hours away. We can do Napa next.” 

“Yeah?” Dan smiles, delighted. 

“Yeah.” Promising to do this again is a problem for Sober Tommy. Drunk Tommy is just going to bask in the light of that smile as much as she wants. 

The first thought Tommy has when she wakes up the next morning is that the bottle of wine at dinner was definitely a mistake. Her head is pounding, her mouth is the driest it’s ever been, and she’s suffocatingly warm, wrapped in a sweaty tangle of limbs. She pries her eyes open to confirm that yes, she and Dan fell asleep in the same fucking bed last night. 

She extracts herself from under Dan’s arm and hair to find a glass of water already on her bedside table. At least someone’s drunk self did something right. She drains it before taking a shower that does nothing to wash the guilt away. 

They get ready and eat breakfast in relative silence before they get on the bus back to the city. Tommy’s stomach roils on the ride. Guilty as she feels for taking _so much,_ she can’t resist resting her aching head against Dan’s proffered shoulder, soothed by Dan’s fingers carding through her hair.

The next thing she knows, Dan’s shaking her awake at the bus stop near their apartments. “So um, dinner at that new sushi place later?” Dan asks. 

Tommy should say no. They should do laundry, get ready for work, behave like non-codependent adults. “Yeah, of course. Six?”

  


***

  


“A podcast,” Dan says skeptically. They’re at lunch around the corner from Favs and Lovett’s house in the last hours before Dan and Tommy are flying back to San Francisco. 

“A podcast,” Favs says eagerly. She’s bouncing with delight and excitement. “To like, give a no bullshit take on the election as primaries kick into gear and then you know, continuing into the general if it goes well.” 

“You and me talking politics for an hour a week?” Dan asks, a smile breaking onto her face. “It sounds fun but I can’t imagine it’ll take off.” 

“No one wants _us_ to talk about politics Tommy,” Lovett whines. “Even Favs wants Dan over me.”

“I know it’s slipped your notice babe, but Dan _does_ have more experience in politics than you. By quite a lot,” Favs says in a patient tone that means they’ve had this conversation many times already. “And no, TV politics doesn’t count.”  

“I think she just called you old Dan,” Tommy laughs. Dan makes a put-upon face which just makes Tommy giggle harder. 

“I did no-” 

“Why do they want _you_ then Favs, hm?” Lovett interrupts. 

“Jesus, Lovett,” Dan says mildly. “Who could imagine that you would be sought for political commentary _after_ your former boss?” Lovett scowls.  

“Look if people like it and it actually goes somewhere we’ll have you on, I promise,” Favs says placatingly. “Who knows, maybe it’ll be a roaring success, podcasts are the new radio yeah? I was talking to Axe the other day and his podcast is like, a lot of people listen.” 

“Oh did you see him when he was here?” Dan asks. 

“Yeah!” Favs lights up. She gestures between herself and Lovett. “We had lunch with him, it was great! Though it’s still like- I dunno, a lot of people we used to work with get weird about the fact that we’re together. You know what that’s like, wasn’t Gibbs in San Francisco a couple weeks ago?” 

Wait. “What are you talking about?” Dan asks, before Tommy can. Her voice sounds strained. Her brain can’t be whirling as fast as Tommy’s is, but it sure sounds like it. 

“Oh, are you not like... telling people?” Favs asks, tone still light like she isn’t insinuating that-

All the blood drains from Tommy’s face. What the fuck. “Favs...” she says, strangled.  “You think... Dan and I... what?!” 

“Yeah, I thought since…” Favs says, uncomprehending. “You basically live together don’t you?” 

Tommy can’t look at Dan. She knew Favs had figured her out but she didn’t think she thought- “Jon, no!” she chokes out. 

Favs looks perplexed, Lovett looks concerned. She sneaks a peek at Dan, unable to not… see. Dan looks stunned, frozen. Tommy can’t- She gets up from the table, clumsy, almost tips over her chair, stumbles to the door. When she hits the street she starts to run. Favs’ house is close and she has a key thank god.

She walks in, blind, trips up the stairs to the guest room Dan had insisted she take. It doesn’t feel safe enough so she opens the closet door, curls into the corner on the floor, head in her hands. She takes deep breaths, trying to count a pattern in her head. _It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. It’s Dan she’s not going to- Tommy’s just been taking advantage of her friendship- Fuck fuck fuck_.  

Something cold pushes her hand and she lifts her head the tiniest bit to find Leo staring at her with concern. Tommy lets him crawl into her lap, tangles her fingers in his curls, tries to breathe. _Worst case she can just- She can move down here. Favs and Lovett will still- Unless- She’s a terrible person and they know now_. 

“Tommy!” That’s Favs, yelling from somewhere in the house. Leo barks in her lap. Tommy can hear her pounding footsteps on the stairs, going in and out of rooms, until her painted toenails appear in the closet doorway. 

“Hey, hey, Tom,” Favs says slow and easy, her hand landing on Tommy’s shoulder. “Come on love, come out of the closet.” Tommy huffs a tiny breath of a laugh at that and Favs giggles, relieved. “Come talk to me.” 

Tommy lets Favs take her hands, pull her out into the room and to her feet, lead her to the bed, sit her down. Favs sits next to her, still holding her hands and Leo jumps on the bed and curls close. She doesn’t deserve them.

“God, Tommy I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed,” Favs says softly, her thumbs stroking the back of Tommy’s hands.

“Was it that obvious?” Tommy asks. This is going to hurt, but she has to _know_. And no matter what her panicked brain wants to tell her, Favs is not going to fucking leave her.  

Favs looks at her for a long moment. Tommy forces herself to maintain eye contact. Favs’ eyes are kind and her voice is gentle. “Well I know you pretty well but... yeah. You clearly adore her and you guys are so close and connected. What’s the problem?”

“That she doesn’t like me like that!” Tommy explodes. “That I took advantage of our friendship and pushed too far and now she’s going to hate me and I’m going to lose my bes- my only friend in San Francisco!”

“First of all, ouch,” Favs says mildly. Tommy shrugs a little, Favs knows how much Tommy loves her, she can deal. “But I think... I don’t know Tommy, I really don’t, but you didn’t see her face just now, I wouldn’t be so sure she doesn’t. You should fucking talk to her” 

Tommy shakes her head. “I don’t know if I can.” 

“You have to,” Favs says sternly. “And soon. But right now, you have a flight to catch.” 

Dan studiously ignores her on the way to the airport, while Lovett and Favs make stilted conversation. Favs gives Tommy a tight hug and kisses her cheek at security. Lovett deigns to give her a careful hug too, which is how she knows she’s truly pathetic. Dan and Tommy clear security in silence, wait at the gate in silence, board the plane in silence. 

Tommy says “yes” immediately when a guy approaches and asks if she’ll switch seats so he can sit next to his wife in their aisle. She catches a flicker of _something_ on Dan’s face and ignores it. She’s doing them both a favor.  

When the plane lands, Dan catches up to her in the airport, still silent. “I’m um, gonna get an Uber home,” Tommy offers tersely. She doesn’t think she can handle public transport right now.

“Uh, okay, I was going to take the BART…” Dan says.

“Cool,” Tommy says, flat. “I’ll um, see you.” Dan might say something else, but Tommy’s already walking, biting her lip to hold in the tears.

  


***

  


San Francisco without Dan sucks. Tommy starts doing a lot of punishing hill runs again, searches the internet for real estate listings in Los Angeles, refuses to talk to Favs about anything but work, avoids Lovett’s calls, avoids her mom’s calls, picks fights on Twitter. Work is busy at least, and primaries are picking up so she gets offered a couple writing gigs, TV appearances. 

Favs texts her the podcast link when it drops: Keepin’ It 1600. She makes it five minutes in before she’s crying in her apartment at the measured sound of Dan’s voice. The next morning, when she wakes up sore where she’d cried herself to sleep on the couch, she decides. Enough is enough. Go out and engage with society, fuck some people, get the hell over it.

She picks a sports bar she’s never been to before, but that everybody likes. It’s March Madness so there are plenty of people around, even if she’s still just sitting at the bar by herself with a shitty beer. 

Nova is up 22 to 14 when fate decides it hasn’t had enough of screwing with Tommy’s life and Dan walks in. She’s with some guy, his hand possessively on her waist as they walk to the bar and after a minute Tommy places him as one of the guys who’s asked Dan out at work that she’s always rejected. Fuck. It’s not that Tommy thought it was a win that Dan turned those guys down, but she can’t say it didn’t make her feel good that Dan wanted to hang out with her and not go on dates. 

The bartender has passed over two drinks, a beer and a vodka cranberry which Dan does _not_ drink what the fuck, when Dan finally turns towards her. Dan’s eyes widen and Tommy gulps. _Caught you staring. And you were doing so well not being a creep too_.  

“Tommy!” Dan gasps. Tommy swallows and nods in greeting, as cool as she can manage. She thinks she does pretty well of playing it cool and easy, but Dan’s face goes completely white and she turns and flees towards the door. _Just like Tommy did in LA_. What the fuck.

Tommy pushes off her barstool and follows Dan out the door, ignoring the confused look on Dan’s date’s face. Dan standing on the corner, arms crossed over her chest, breathing heavy. Her face twists as Tommy approaches. 

“What the fuck is your problem?” Tommy asks before she thinks it through. “I walked away so easily, I tried to make it easy for _you_!”  

Dan gapes at her, opening and closing her mouth a few times before she sets her jaw like she’s decided. “I miss you every damn day,” Dan says sharply. 

“You don’t,” Tommy says wildly.  She can’t- 

"I do!” Dan almost yells. “I wake up every day with a list of things I want to tell you. I miss the way you laugh, I miss the way you try to burn down my kitchen, I miss the way you yell at the TV and the way you rage about my coworkers.” She pauses for breath. Tommy recognizes distantly that her mouth is open as she stares at Dan. "And I'm sorry! God I’m so sorry Tommy.  I- I let things get way too far and it wasn't fair to you. I knew- I knew it was going to end, but I couldn't make myself- and I should have just _said something_ instead of letting it get wrecked like _this_ and I'll always be sorry for that."

Tommy can’t- What the fuck. She stares at Dan, speechless, for what feels like forever, until Dan starts to tighten her arms over her chest, close herself back off. _Say something you idiot_.  “I.. I was trying to make a clean break. I thought it would be better for both of us, I...” Tommy whispers. She can hear how fucked up she sounds, god.

Dan’s face does something funny before she visibly steels herself, takes a deep breath.  "Favs wasn't wrong,” she says. _Wait what!?_ “About me.  I've been pretty far gone on you for months now.  And I know... I know you don't... But, it's only fair that you know.  So, uh, there it is." 

Tommy’s mind is reeling, spinning out of control. Dan doesn’t- Tommy was taking advantage of their friendship. Tommy messed everything up. Nothing she thought she knew makes sense anymore. Favs wasn’t… wrong? Dan’s pretty far- Dan missed her. Dan missed her. Dan’s been pretty far gone on her for months. 

Finally, Dan says kind of desperately, “say something?” 

Tommy has been such an idiot. She laughs a little bit, nervous and off-kilter, and then takes a slow step forward. Her hands start to move towards Dan before she realizes they’ve unclenched from her side. “Favs wasn’t wrong about me either. I’m so fucking into you Dan.” 

Dan is reaching for her even as she asks, "really?  That's- really?"

Tommy nods, tears pricking her eyes. She can’t wait anymore so she pulls Dan forward into a wet, uncoordinated, desperately joyful kiss. 

Their arms wrap around each other, pulling each other close so that every part of their bodies is pressed together. They fit together perfectly. 

Tommy doesn’t realize they’ve moved until her back hits the brick wall. She jolts a little bit which must pull Dan back to reality because she takes half a step back. Tommy whines at the loss of contact and Dan squeezes her arm, leans back to press a quick chaste kiss to her lips.

“Stay right here,” Dan says, bossy. “I just- I need to go tell Paul I’m leaving.” Tommy stays, mind still whirring. Dan’s back at her side, guiding her to a Lyft on the curb, before she can even really process that she’s gone. “Your place or mine?” Dan asks softly, as they climb in the car. 

Tommy looks at Dan’s face, split by the most delighted smile, thinks about watching games on her couch, thinks about that conversation with Favs in her kitchen that set all of this in motion. “Do you have Sam Adams?” Tommy asks lightly.

Dan laughs, bright and clear and _happy_. “For you? Always.”

Tommy’s heart flips and all the blood in her body rushes to her head. Dan- Tommy leans back in to kiss her, needing the contact, needing to convey what she can’t say with words. They're going to have to leave a huge tip, but Dan's hand is on her hip and Dan's thigh is pressed against hers. Tommy can't stop, doesn't stop until they pull up outside Dan's apartment, barely stops long enough to get inside and then they’re kissing again in the hallway. 

When they finally make it to Dan’s apartment, after receiving glares from multiple neighbors on the way, Tommy pushes Dan against the wall as the door closes. She steps all the way into Dan’s space until it feels like there isn’t an inch of them that’s not touching and kisses her ‘til they’re breathless. 

Needing at least a bit of air, Tommy tilts her head back the barest amount. “We could watch the end of the game?” she offers, kind of awkward. She giggles at herself and Dan smiles indulgently. 

"We, uh, could, yeah," Dan says breathlessly. She leans back in for another kiss. "But I'm only going to be watching you anyway." 

Tommy’s chest can’t contain all of this happiness. “Bed then?” 

Dan grabs her by the hands and pulls her down the hallway to her bedroom instead of answering. Tommy's been here before, but never like this, never when she's about to strip Dan bare and spread her out on the meticulously made bed, so she has to stop on the threshold, her eyes wide. Dan breaks the spell by pulling her into a kiss, walking her backwards towards the bed.

They tug at each other’s clothes with a surprising amount of coordination for how far gone they are and how unwilling they are to break apart. They're less coordinated once they tumble to the mattress, naked and kissing, sloppy and desperate and joyful. Tommy’s not entirely sure where Dan’s body ends and hers begins, but she supposes it doesn’t matter, all nerve endings and joy.  They touch each other, reverent and joyful, until they fall asleep in a sweaty tangle of bodies and sheets. 

In the morning they both call in sick. They spend the whole day cuddled close, whispering confessions, kissing every part of each other. 

“We should call Favs and Lovett,” Dan murmurs eventually. “They’ve been worried.” 

“God she’s going to be so fucking smug,” Tommy complains, already pressing the FaceTime button. 

Favs shrieks when both of their faces appear on her screen. Lovett comes sprinting in from the other room, face creased with concern that’s replaced by overwhelming joy immediately.

After they make it through the “Congratulations!”s and the “told you so”s and a deeply concerning comment from Favs about wedding toasts and a round of griping from Lovett about the podcast, they order pizza so they don’t have to leave the apartment.

When it arrives, they settle down with pizza and beer and Dan pulls up the game from last night. Halfway through, Tommy pulls her down on the couch. They never do finish the game.  
  



End file.
